Riders from sea

The fishing village, which has over 3,500 families, had about 110 casualties of the 530 reported in Cuddalore district. It would take at least 4-5 months for them to start venturing into the sea to earn a living. Hundreds of fishing boats lie scattered more than 800 metres away from the beach, fully or partially damaged.

‘‘We lost everything, in the sea, we encounter big waves. But, the waves on Sunday morning were bigger than the biggest we have ever seen,’’ says R. Marsivakamani, a 57-year-old fisherman whose hut and fishing boat were washed away.

The fate of Marsivakamani’s brother Natarajan, who was staying in a nearby house on the beach, was even worse. He lost his wife Krishnavani and daughter Ilavarasi in the waves. Natarajan had just returned from a pilgrimage to Sabarimala on that day, where he prayed for his daughter’s marriage. ‘‘Sir, tell me what wrong have I done to deserve this?’’ said Natarajan, now at a relief camp.

Ilavarasi, a 60-year-old, is among the few women searching through the debris of their homes as the waves roar in the background. ‘‘We are yet to receive food packets and clothing still,’’ she said. ‘‘This was my home,’’ she said, pointing to a small pile of debris.

Cuddalore District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi said the deaths in the district were less compared to neighbouring Nagapattinam. The district, which was a cyclone-prone area, had been training the villagers on disaster management, he said. —PTI

PAZHAVERKADU
PRIYAMVATHA. P
CHENNAI, DECEMBER 29

Pazhaverkadu, an island 70 km from the city and a tourist haunt, has been severely battered by Sunday’s tsunamis. The ‘‘outside world’’, however, is waking up to the colossal damage only now.

Of the nine kuppams (fishermen’s settlements) dotting this once charming island, Koraikuppam has been washed away completely. It is a ghost hamlet now. The only signs of the bustling village it once was are the broken pieces of boats and catamarans, damaged roofs and stray cattle. With almost all huts damaged in the area, all residents have moved out. Six of the hamlet were killed.

The transformers blew up and the village has been plunged in darkness since Sunday. Most residents have fled to safer places, leaving behind only a few youngsters to guard their broken boats. However, there was 80-year-old Rathnamma, who refused to leave the place even after disaster struck. Uma, her neighbour, said: ‘‘She is shell-shocked. It looks like she has lost her power of speech, she has gone mentally deranged perhaps. She refuses to leave.’’ When we asked Rathnamma why she wanted to stay on, she folded her hands and asked us to leave the place, tears in her eyes.

It will be some time before villagers can think of getting back to normal. Their main concern — the fishing nets that were lost in the tides. ‘‘In our kuppam alone, we would have lost more than 100 nets each worth Rs 1 lakh. We cannot go back to fishing without the nets,’’ says Sudhakar, who is left to roam the island, surveying the wreckage for what he can find. More than 2,000 fishermen who have fled Pazhaverkadu have now taken refuge in a community hall in Ponneri, 8 km away.